Meet the Faces Behind Clinical Trials

Industry Perspective Raising public awareness of clinical trials is the focus of many initiatives, yet by and large, the people who carry out clinical trial operations remain unsung.

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Source: Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development

Clinical trials serve a critical role in improving health care by answering important questions about the safety and effectiveness of new drugs, devices and treatments that, if proven safe and effective, are made available to the public.

Behind the curtain

The oft-overlooked individuals who carry out clinical trial operations, clinical research professionals, have largely remained hidden in the background—even unfairly typecast as “mad scientists,” which could not be further from the truth.

Clinical research professionals are most often doctors, nurses or allied health professionals who dedicate their careers to a higher purpose: that of discovering and proving new therapies that improve lives and may ultimately lead to cures for the various diseases that claim the lives of those we love.

Earning stripes

Clinical research professionals have specialized training in Good Clinical Practice, the international ethical and quality standard for clinical trial conduct. Many have earned certification as specialists in clinical research, an achievement demonstrating an ongoing commitment to excellence, professionalism, ethical behavior and patient safety.

"...you can trust that clinical research professionals are just that: professionals."

Those who are members of professional organizations such as the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP), the Academy of Physicians in Clinical Research and the Academy of Clinical Research Professionals commit to, and are held to, a code of ethics. They also hold themselves accountable for continuous improvement by actively developing their professional competencies.

Education is essential

The importance of public confidence in clinical research and the people behind it cannot be overstated. Without public confidence, without trust from the patients who volunteer to participate in research studies, clinical trials and their resulting medical advances cannot occur. This is why ACRP, a non-profit organization supporting the growth and development of 13,000-plus clinical research professionals, is committed to helping build that trust by working to ensure clinical research is performed ethically, responsibly and professionally everywhere in the world.

What does that mean to the public? It means you can trust that clinical research professionals are just that: professionals. They take their obligations to you and the work they do every day seriously in hopes of continuously improving health care and quality of life for all.